A Not-So-Perfect Love Story
by Wren Jones
Summary: We all know that Cecil hates Steve Carlsberg, but we have never had any explanation as to why. This story is my personal explanation. Cecil was once in love with Steve, a stranger to Night Vale just like Carlos. This will explain to you the course of events that led to what now seems like a mutual hatred.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's note: This is from Cecil's point of view, first person. Shout out to tumblr user drinkingto-forget for being kind enough to let me use their face/headcanon for Steve's looks._

_Oh, gosh, there he is!_ I thought, darting behind one of the corners of the outside walls of the high school to peer around the edge. _Flawless Steve. Dark auburn hair, that _face_, oh, he'll be the death of me, I'm sure._

A slightly child-like voice spoke up from behind me, making me jump. "Hey, Cecil!"

"Hello, Telly," I greeted, waving vaguely behind my back.

"Are you staring at what's-his-name again?" Telly asked, sounding a bit bored. He put an arm around my shoulders and stood next to me, looking ahead with distinct disinterest.

"Of course. Why do you say it like that?"

"Because, he's so _boring_, Cecil. And the way you're staring is a bit creepy."

"He is not boring!" I exclaimed, ignoring the last part. "A little clueless at times, maybe, but he's new here, so... yeah."

"That's part of the problem with him, too. He's gonna get in trouble for it one day. _And_ he might not even be interested in boys."

"Tel-_ly_, how can you _say_ that?" I whined, throwing my head back onto my friend's shoulder. I tried to give him my best puppy dog eyes. "I saw him looking at me yesterday!"

"That's because you run practically every time he looks at you." Telly took my arm and started to lead me away. "I'm pretty sure the entire school knows that you're completely head over heels for him."

"I don't care," I said, sticking out my lower lip in a pout.

"Exhibitionist."

"Telly!"

"Oh, come on, admit it! You _like_ people knowing."

"I said I didn't care, not that I liked it!"

"Liked what?" _Oh, shit, it's him!_

Telly started to speak immediately. "Oh, Cecil was just talking about how he- ouch!"

"That's not what I said and you _know_ it," I half-growled, glaring at Telly.

"You didn't have to hit so hard," Telly grumbled.

"Baby."

"Shut up."

Steve cleared his throat, and Telly and I turned to look at him. "Uh, Cecil?" He sounded slightly nervous. "Could I talk to you for a second? Alone?"

"Sure," I said, my heart beginning to race. Steve gestured to a spot along the school wall with no windows, and I followed him as he started to walk. Oh, God, what if Telly was right and he doesn't even like guys? He's probably going to tell me off and ask that I stop-

"So, Cecil." Steve cleared his throat again, going slightly red and fiddling with the hem of his shirt. I loved how he said my name.

"Yes?" I asked, my voice staying blessedly within my octave.

"I, well... I was wondering if, maybe, you'd like to go grabcoffeewithmesometime?" Steve's last few words were rushed, as if he was having trouble letting them out of his mouth. I just stared for a moment. Did Steve, _flawless_ Steve, really just ask me out? "Uh, yeah, I though maybe you didn't. I-I can just-"

"No!" I said, louder than I meant to. "Yes, I mean. I'd love to have coffee with you sometime. That'd be great." I flashed a smile, not realizing that once I started I wouldn't be able to stop. "Oh, God, sorry, I just..." I turned, trying to hide my face.

"No, no, it's fine," Steve laughed, his face breaking out into a grin also. "Is Friday after school good for you?"

I thought for a moment, my smile slipping. "I have to work at the radio station that night. Saturday or Sunday would work for me, though."

"Saturday at noon, then?" Steve's lips were still curved upwards, his hands folded almost shyly behind his back.

"Yeah, sounds great!" I said, grinning again. "See you around?"

"Yeah. Goodbye, Cecil." Steve gave me a little wave, turning around and walking away. Telly started to make his way towards me, staring at Steve as he left.

"Well? What happened? You're smiling, that means it's something good, right?"

"Good," I said slowly. "Good doesn't even begin to cover it, Telly. Try, wonderful, amazing, and astounding. Breathtaking, for sure."

"Wait, did he just ask you out?"

"Yes!" I shrieked, unable to keep it in. "He did! We're going out for coffee on Saturday! I know that doesn't mean we're dating, but it's something! You know, I-"

"Cecil."

"What?"

"You're starting to ramble."

"Sorry, I'm just so excited!" I sighed happily, linking my arm with Telly's. "C'mon, let's go do our homework, okay? Before I get too distracted."


	2. Chapter 2

A date. How do you prepare for a date? It's only coffee, so nothing too formal, but I shouldn't be _too_ casual. Steve's also a stranger to our city, so maybe something similar to what he would wear? That would mean something close to jeans and a tee shirt. Some tunics seemed to weird him out, so I shouldn't wear any of those. Jeans for sure, though. No, denim shorts; this is a desert, after all. My Dark Owl Records shirt should be good since Steve wears band shirts all the time and my shirt wasn't too much different.

I exhaled slowly, glancing at my clock. Which was a useless thing to do, really, considering that since the twenty third of September last year time had pretty much stopped working in Night Vale. There was still a kind of schedule, but we pretty much disregarded it and left for work or school or where ever we went during the day when the sun was at a certain height in the sky. Most people relied on the sun, like I said, or the occasional chimes from the invisible clock tower located somewhere in the city. The latter only rung when the man in the tower felt like it, which was _always_ at a time inconvenient for everyone. Anyway, the clock read six twenty seven AM, which had to be wrong for today since the sun was too high for it to be that early.

I decided that I had about two hours until noon, which did give me plenty of time to get ready, but also gave a lot of time for my nerves to run me ragged. I mean, I could just imagine all that could go wrong! Our drinks could be cold; one of us could spill our coffee; I could spill mine on _him_, oh, God, that would be horrible! And what if we ran into one of the Sheriff's secret police or someone important and upset them! _Good Lord, Cecil!_ I chided myself, forcing myself to take a few deep breaths. _It's just a date, that's all. You've been on dates before; it's not like this is a foreign concept to you!_

Starting to search for my Dark Owl shirt, I thought about how long it had been since I had last worn it. I was sure it still fit, but if anything was going to be hard today, it would be finding that shirt. Part of the reason was that my room was a _mess_. With my mother gone and my dad caught up in his work, there wasn't exactly anyone to tell me to clean up. Not that I minded of course; it was just disorganized, not dirty. I just had to go through mounds of stuff whenever I wanted to find anything.

The tee was found in the back of my closet, thankfully wrinkle-free. The shorts were harder to locate; denim shorts were somewhat out-of-fashion in Night Vale and I hadn't gone out in them in a while. I found them in the very bottom of my dresser, next to the winter clothing I was sure I'd never need.

Dressed now, I checked the sky again, noting that I only had an hour and a half until noon. That should be enough time. It wasn't like I was wearing any makeup or anything. For one thing, I only crossdressed (if you could even call it that, clothing really has no set gender) on Thursdays and Sundays. And, for another, it seemed to weird Steve out a bit.

A lot of things in Night Vale seemed to weird Steve out, actually, and he didn't grasp most of our laws and traditions. _I'll ask him about where he's from,_ I decided. That would be a good topic of conversation. Plus, I'll get to know more about him _and_ listen to him speak! Hah, he had such a nice voice...

I was snapped out of my thoughts by the ringing of the telephone in the next room over. Unsurprisingly, the caller turned out to be Telly.

"So, you haven't left yet?" he asked almost as soon as I'd said hello.

"No, not yet," I told him. "I've got almost an half an hour until noon, Telly."

"Oh, right. Well, good luck!"

"Thanks," I said, laughing and hanging the phone back on the wall. Eek, I was so nervous! I should go now, I thought.

Excitement bubbled up in my chest as I half-sprinted out of the door, almost forgetting to grab my keys and wallet on my way out of the door in my haste. My hands shook slightly as I revved up the engine of my father's car. What if I was late? The coffee shop was all the way on the other side of the city, and it would take at _least_ ten minutes to get there if the traffic lights were on my side...


End file.
